Chapter 14: Sheep Mountain Table

The moment I arrived at Sheep Mountain Table I was overcome by a profound sense of awe. Dozens of passengers from both buses staggered with me to the edge of the cliff overlooking the entirety of Badlands National Park. The light-colored sandstone reflected the sunlight, making it a very bright place even at twilight. Off to the east a group of surrealistically shaped sandstone pinnacles and peaks were glowing in the orange-tinted light of the summer evening. With the sun close to the horizon, all the colors were morphing, and the shadows were growing. The sky was a dome of deep blue that did not fade until the edges of the world, making the visibility seem endless.

A creeping miasma of haze floated above the canyon floor where herds of Buffalo mottled fields of green grass. Beyond the ...